“Remind them who they work for”

Speaking at Florida Atlantic University today, President Obama started with a simple question:

What do we have to do to make sure that America is a place where, if you work hard, if you're responsible, that that hard work and that responsibility pays off?

He explained how the Buffett Rule would help us get there, by making sure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes.

In the next few weeks, we’re going to vote on something called the Buffett Rule—very simple: If you make more than $1 million a year—now, I’m not saying you have a million dollars—right? I’m not saying you saved up all your money and you made smart investments and now you’ve got your nest egg and you’re preparing for retirement. I’m saying, you’re bringing in a million bucks or more a year. Then, what the rule says is you should pay the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle-class families do. You shouldn’t get special tax breaks. You shouldn’t be able to get special loopholes.

And if we do that, then it makes it affordable for us to be able to say for those people who make under $250,000 a year—like 98 percent of American families do—then your taxes don’t go up. And we can still make those investments in things like student loans and college and science and infrastructure and all the things that make this country great.

And this is where you come in … I want you to call your members of Congress. I want you to write them an email. I want you to tweet them. Tell them don’t give tax breaks to folks like me who don’t need them. Tell them to start investing in the things that will help the economy grow. Tell them if we want to bring down our deficit sensibly, then we’ve got to do it in a balanced way that’s fair for everybody. Remind them who they work for. Tell them to do the right thing.

Do your part, and add your name in support of President Obama’s Buffett Rule.